Stingers take care of business with 7-2 win

Forward Audrey Belzile had four goals and an assist against the Carleton Ravens

The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team dismantled the Carleton Ravens with a 7-2 win on Sunday, Feb. 4 at the Ed Meagher Arena. Forward Audrey Belzile was the star of the game, scoring four goals and adding an assist.

“Everyone decided to play a team game and really come out with a team effort,” said head coach Julie Chu.

The Stingers started off slow, allowing the last-placed Ravens to generate some scoring chances in the first period. Belzile opened the scoring late in the first period with a great individual effort, spinning around one defender before scoring short-side past Ravens goalie Katelyn Steele.

“Our first period is usually really not that good, so we talked about starting strong,” Belzile said. “Everybody was forechecking and making good passes.”

Audrey Belzile (right) recorded the league’s second hat-trick by any player this season. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

The Stingers dominated the second period, outshooting the Ravens 15-5 in the period. Forward Sophie Gagnon doubled the Stingers lead six minutes into the second, scoring on a bit of a controversial goal, as Steele lost her glove during a scrum in front of the net and tried to stop Gagnon’s shot bare-handed.

After Belzile scored her second of the game and the Ravens got on the board with a power-play goal, the Stingers scored three times in a two-minute span late in the second period. They had a 6-1 lead at the second intermission. Belzile and Gagnon each scored, and forward Lidia Fillion got her league-leading 10th goal of the season. Belzile scored her fourth goal late in the third period.

“There was a lot of hard work going not only into [Belzile scoring four goals], but also what’s happening around her to allow her to be in positions to get a great opportunity,” Chu said.

This was Belzile’s first multi-goal game of the season, and she said it was the first time she scored four goals in a game. She said good chemistry with her linemates, Stéphanie Lalancette and Fillion, led to her goals.

“With all my goals there were good passes, so it wasn’t just me. It was a team [effort],” Belzile said.

Fifth-year goalie Fréderike Berger-Lebel got her first start as a Stinger in a regular-season game. Chu said even though Berger-Lebel has been the third-string goalie for much of her time at Concordia, she remains a team player.

“Instead of being someone who is resentful in that role, she embodied it, and she allowed all her teammates to understand to push everyday in practice and still be ready if she gets the nod,” Chu said. “She earned the right to start this game, and her teammates loved the fact that she got that opportunity.”

“For sure we wanted her to win the game,” Belzile said. “We are so proud of her because she’s a good teammate, always coming to the rink with a smile.”

With the win, the Stingers improve to a 12-4-1 record, sitting in second place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). With three games remaining, they are three points behind the Montréal Carabins, but the Stingers have a game in hand. The two teams play each other at Montréal on Feb. 16.

The Stingers’s next game is at home against rivals McGill on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m.